Nas explains Kelis wedding dress album cover

Nas has explained his decision to feature ex-wife Kelis's wedding dress on the cover of his new album.

Life Is Good, which is released on July 17, shows the rapper on the cover posing with the gown draped over his knee.

Nas told The Guardian: "I found [the dress] in my house and thought, 'It's going somewhere'. Either on the cover of my album, or burning in a garbage can."

"I was angry when I first found it. Hurt and angry - but I don't think she left it deliberately to hurt me. It's just part of the dress, so I don't know where the rest of it is. But it made all the sense in the world for me to hold on to that. I guess that's just my personality.

"My wedding and my marriage was, for the most part, some of the most amazing times of my life. She's an incredible woman. It just ended really publicly, it seemed real bad."

The couple split in 2009, just months after Kelis had given birth to their first child.